What % of your fish got sick or died in the first month after arrival?

[KGV]

I am very curious: What fraction of your fish got sick or died, say in the first month after arrival? It doesn't matter what type of fish, anything that belongs in a reef aquarium. It doesn't matter if this happened in the quarantine or display tank.

I am new in the hobby, and of my first 9 fish, 3 died and 2 more got sick. Just in the first month, I saw ick, fin rot, flukes, and a lost a fairy wrasse to an unknown disease. I didn't see this coming! I was 15 years in the freshwater aquarium hobby as a kid and never experienced anything like this. Now, I am a life scientist by profession and I thought that I would be able to handle anything from water chemistry to fish health and disease. I couldn't have been more wrong! I feel really responsible for these wonderful creatures and gutted by the first months experience .

 

[ReefPig]

If I was to guesstimate how many fish I've had over the years, it'd be around 150, somewhere in that region.

I distinctly remember all the fish I had issues with, as there have been so few.

• Twice I've had a fish come in with ick, one of which died, the other was fine after a few weeks (UV and feeding heavily fortified food).
• Twice I've had clowns come in with some type of intestinal infection, the white poo issue, and die within a couple of months.
• Twice I've had fish just not eat and die within in a week or so.
• Twice I've had fish killed by existing fish.

Works out to 0.05% +/- based on my guestimate.

I've been extremely lucky, but I tend to only buy from places I trust, and that I've fully inspected the fish and asked the LFS to feed them and observe.
I also treat all fish using Blue Life Safety Stop, which whilst it is not the same as using QT, it's at least something.

Edit: I have had more fish die, but not when they first arrived and not specifically due to a parasite/infection, such as one got sucked into a pump etc.

 

[mdb_talon]

Over a couple decades buying fish and I can say I have only had a few die within a few days of being introduced into the tank. Probably a couple more if I extend that timeline a month out, but it would be an extremely small percentage.

It is not because I have some amazing procedure to acclimate or care for new arrivals though, but think I have had such luck for a few reasons. The first is I have never bought fish online (though I buy lots of coral online). I dont buy online because of point number 2. I want to observe the fish over a period of a week or 2 at the LFS to make sure it is healthy. I have had good relationships with the owners at various LFS over the years and most have no issue holding it for me for a week or two if I pay for it first and they give my money back if it gets sickly. A couple LFS over the years have not been willing to do that which I completely understand it can be a space issue, etc..... but I just dont buy from them.

If the fish is healthy when you get it from 5 miles down the street and take then you take it home and put in good water with similar parameters there should be very little chance of death. Depending on the fish store though you may be buying a fish that has travelled 5 thousand miles in various plastic bags/temps/ph over the past week and is extremely stressed/infected/etc by the time you get him. May have zero to do with you or your tank parameters.